Dolphins, Patriots, Lions Could Help Bengals Bye-Week

[*rfaulk34*]

(11-14-2021, 10:28 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Here's my opinion that, for whatever in the hell it's worth. 

Going into the Jets game, they were feeling extremely confident (maybe even a little too much so) because they had just blown out the Lions and Ravens in back to back weeks by a combined score of 75-28 and were on a 4-1 run since the Bears loss. 

The Jets game was their 3rd straight on the road and they had put out a ton of effort and energy in the blowouts, so I think there was also an element of lag, flatness (whatever you want to call out) when they took the field in NY. Just not the same level of energy. 

Defensively, they planned for what they had seen on tape from NY to that point in the season. Except, that's not what they got when NY took the field. Instead, they literally borrowed and executed the Patriots offensive game plan from the week before where they got humiliated, which the Bengals D and staff was not prepared for at all...and couldn't really adjust to during the game, for whatever reason.

All that combined led to a Jets upset and a very heartbreaking loss for the Bengals.

Then they go back home and face the Browns, having been dealt a pretty good blow to their confidence the week before, I felt going into the game that they needed to come out strong and take an early lead to that Jets game out of their minds. That didn't happen. Instead, the pick six was a huge momentum / emotional shift right out of the gate. To their credit, they came right back and tied it up...but then, a combination of mistakes on their part and big plays on the Browns part led to the game getting out of hand pretty quickly.

It happens. In fact, it's happened a lot this season and to quite a few teams with winning records right now. Good teams have also suffered upsets in the past few weeks...some have been mind boggling.

I think the reason a lot of people have been so negative and frustrated is because the Bengals had those 2 things happen in back to back weeks, so it makes it look worse. But, if they would look around the NFL this year, specifically the 12 playoff contenders right now in the AFC, they would see that just about every team outside of the of the Titans and Patriots have either had a blowout loss or an upset loss, and some teams have had both. It puts things in a little more realistic perspective.

Speaking of the AFC playoff race...12 teams currently have at least 5 wins and only 1 team has more than 6. 
Of the 12, only 5 have a point differential of 30 or more. The Bengals are on of those.
The Bengals rank 5th in the AFC in both points scored and allowed per game. 

I guess what I'm saying is everything the Bengals want is there for the taking if they come out and coach / play their asses off these last 8 games, being more consistent on both sides of the ball and cutting down on unforced mistakes. They have a golden opportunity in front of them to potentially win the division and/or also land a playoff spot. 

I think there's plenty of reason to still be fired up, and hopefully they come of the bye and KEEP us fired up over these last 2 months.

Sorry for being so damn longwinded.  

Titans do have an upset loss to the Jets. Patriots were 1-4 at home before today. And the Bucs just lost their 2nd in a row, today to the lowly WFT. 

You're right, everyone has a blemish or two. No reason at all to throw in the towel at the half way point. 

If they come out flat against the Raiders though...

I could stomache a loss to the Raiders if they play well and the Raiders just play better, but a flat, tentative loss tells me they don't have the intestinal fortitude they need.